James Ridgley

Ornithology Writer & Language Enthusiast

I'm a longtime bird watcher and language hobbyist who became fascinated by the intersection of ornithology and linguistics. After years of field notes, crossword puzzles, and conversations with other birders about species names and their origins, I realized how many people ask the same questions I did—how to spell pigeon, what the scientific names actually mean, why certain birds got their common names. I started this site to organize and share those answers. My two rescue parrots, Rusty and Scout, keep me honest about practical bird naming—they definitely have opinions on their names. I love researching etymology and connecting the dots between languages and bird nomenclature.